Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Beech-Nut baby food recalled over fear of glass contamination
Federal food inspectors have announced the recall of 1,920 pounds of sweet potato and chicken baby food made by Beech-Nut Nutrition, saying it may be contaminated with small pieces of glass. The problem was discovered after Beech-Nut received a complaint from a consumer who found a small piece of glass in the product, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement on Tuesday.
California bill to kill personal-beliefs exemption for vaccines stalls
A bill requiring all children in California public schools to be vaccinated for such diseases as polio and measles stalled in the legislature Wednesday, amid opposition from parents who fear vaccines will harm children's immune systems or cause autism. The bill is one of several under consideration in U.S. states aiming to forestall a loss of group immunity as parents take advantage of so-called personal beliefs exemptions, which allow them to forego vaccinating their children before sending them to school.
U.S. FDA approves Amgen's Corlanor heart failure drug
U.S. health regulators on Wednesday approved Amgen Inc's Corlanor to treat patients with chronic heart failure, giving the world's largest biotechnology company its first cardiovascular product. The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Corlanor (ivabradine) on top of current standard of care beta blockers for patients whose symptoms of heart failure are stable and who have a normal heartbeat and a resting heart rate of at least 70 beats per minute.
Weight loss linked to bone loss in middle aged women
Losing weight in middle age may mean losing not just unwanted fat, but also precious bone density, at least for women, a new U.S. study suggests. Regardless of the types of foods or amount of calcium in their diets, middle aged women who lost a moderate amount of weight over a two-year period also lost more bone density than men or younger women.
U.S. study calls into question tests that sequence tumor genes
New cancer tests that sequence only a patient's tumor and not normal tissue could result in a significant number of false positive results, potentially leading doctors to prescribe treatments that might not work, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. The findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, call into question the accuracy of increasingly popular tests that look for mutations within tumors that drive cancer growth.
Florida doctor in NJ political corruption scandal to fight new Medicare fraud charges: lawyer
A Florida ophthalmologist accused of showering New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez with gifts in exchange for help on Medicare disputes plans to fight new federal charges of fraud related to millions in Medicare payments, his attorney said on Wednesday. An arraignment hearing in the Medicare fraud case was continued to Thursday after Salomon Melgen appeared briefly in Florida federal court on Wednesday morning wearing handcuffs and disheveled in a blue jumpsuit.
Approved Pfizer breast cancer drug impresses in latest study
Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday the first formal late-stage trial of its approved treatment for advanced breast cancer, Ibrance, was stopped early after the medicine met its goal of delaying progression of the disease in previously treated patients. J.P.Morgan analyst Chris Schott said in a research note that the successful trial results should boost demand for the recently approved treatment, which works differently than approved medicines and has blockbuster sales potential. Some analysts have predicted the drug could eventually generate annual sales of more than $5 billion.
FDA panel votes in favor of Medicines Co's blood clot preventer
The Medicines Co's intravenous blood clot preventer can be used in angioplasty procedures, an independent advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday. The panel voted 9-2 to support the approval of the once-rejected injection, cangrelor, for use in some patients undergoing angioplasty, a procedure to widen narrowed or clogged coronary arteries that often includes the use of stents.
Snoring, apnea linked to earlier memory decline in elderly
Older people who have sleep apnea, which can be marked by heavy snoring, tend to begin experiencing cognitive decline about 10 years earlier than those without the disorder or those who use a breathing machine to treat their apnea, according to a new U.S. study. Among older people who developed mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease, those with untreated obstructed sleep breathing began to experience mental loss at an average age of 77, compared to age 90 for those without breathing problems, the study team found.
Is the placebo effect in some people's genes?
Some people may be genetically programmed to feel better after taking placebo pills, while others may only heal with real drugs, suggests a new review of existing research. The study team looked at evidence that some people's genes may make them more prone to experience the placebo effect. If true, and a genetic profile of such "placebo responders" could be identified, it might change the way medications are prescribed and the way clinical trials are designed, the authors say.
